She rose to fame at age 18 with her debut single, “Baby One More Time,” soon followed by “Oops…I Did it Again.”
But, Britney Spears’ talent could not shield her from mental health challenges. In the early 2000s, her father involuntarily placed a conservatorship on the “Princess of Pop.”
In 2019, Spears’ legal battle to end the conservatorship created a social media movement, #FreeBritney, and the conservatorship ended last year.
In “Being Britney: Pieces of a Modern Icon, the Cultural Impact of Celebrity on Feminism and Mental Health,” author Jennifer Otter Bickerdike gathers vignettes, stories, interviews, legends, fan experiences and amusing detours to find a portrait of the artist. “This unique narrative is the first to provide a sympathetic yet objective re-examination of Britney’s cultural impact in the wake of major collective shifts surrounding feminism, celebrity and mental health,” a press release stated.
After a United Kingdom launch, the book became No. 1 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases.
Behind the modern pop superstar’s bestselling singles, stage performances and iconic music videos has always been society’s obsession with beauty, youth and fame, almost a dark obsession. The relentless glare on Spears “has threatened to eclipse her musical success.”
Bickerdike’s book explores Spears as a mother and entrepreneur, as well as a victim and fighter, publicly exploited by American society. Despite the length of her career, selling more than 100 million albums and repeatedly coming back from incidents that publicly put her mental health on display, Spears’ ability to overcome adversity has rarely been acknowledged. In 2007, Spears was photographed by paparazzi after shaving her head. Angry with photographers, she hit one photographer’s vehicle with an umbrella.
In recent years, Spears’ rebuilt her success into a Las Vegas residency and sparked a support campaign that led to the end of her conservatorship. She married again and, in December, she will celebrate her 41st birthday.
“After years of being framed as a victim, Britney deserves to be celebrated as the fighter, entrepreneur, inspiration and enigma that she truly is,” Bickerdike said in the press release. Her life, work and individual significance will be recognized for years to come.
Bickerdike is a rock ‘n’ roll cultural historian and author. She co-founded Moving the Needle, a nonprofit organization that supports women in the UK music industry. She is originally from Santa Cruz, California and now lives in London.
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Rebecca Barnabi
